Flavored coffee beverage products enjoy considerable popularity and make up an increasingly significant proportion of daily consumed beverages. However, these flavored coffee beverages are complicated and expensive to produce and frequently suffer from inconsistent product quality; one such reason is the way in which these coffee beverages are flavored.
One common approach to producing flavored coffee beverage products is the admixing of a dry coffee compound with a dried, agglomerated flavoring ingredient of similar size capable of solubilization when the coffee product is being extracted and/or dissolved. The flavoring ingredients are bound together via the application of an agglomerating fluid or binding solution. As there is little or no difference in relative particle sizes between the coffee particles and the flavoring ingredients, segregation and separation generally do not occur. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,206 B1 to Mickowski et al., herein incorporated by reference.
However, this approach has several deficiencies, most notable of which is the increased production cost resulting from both additional raw materials and additional processing steps required to produce the agglomerates. Moreover, inconsistent flavor delivery is frequently encountered, resulting from differing rates of extraction and/or solubilization between the coffee and the agglomerated flavoring ingredients.
In an attempt to overcome the deficiencies of the agglomeration flavoring method, liquid flavoring components have been used to deliver a desired degree of flavoring impact. In this approach, liquid flavoring ingredients are applied to the surface of coffee particles so as to coat them. However, this approach is not without its own set of problems. The liquid flavoring compounds typically used in these applications contain volatile compounds that may evaporate when exposed to the atmosphere, thereby losing their potency. Additionally, not all flavor combinations are possible, as a desired flavor may not be available in liquid form. Finally, liquid flavoring compositions frequently contain evaporative solvents that contribute to volatile flavor loss. These solvents also tend to undergo adverse reactions with the materials typically used in conventional coffee containers (e.g., tin, plastic, paper, and the like). The use of specially treated and costly packaging is therefore required in order to resist such reactions and preserve coffee flavor, quality, and aroma.
To compensate for evaporation it is necessary to apply the flavoring agent in amounts well in excess of what is actually required to deliver the desired flavor load. Another shortcoming of the application of liquid flavorants is the non-uniform coverage of the coffee particles, thereby resulting in inconsistent product quality in the ready to drink form of the beverage, as some prepared beverage portions will receive more or less than the intended flavor level.
Yet another approach to providing flavored coffee products is the practice of separating the flavor and coffee ingredients by combining the flavoring ingredient with a filter media or other membrane that the extracted or solubilized coffee solution must come into contact with. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,593 to Soughan et al., herein incorporated by reference. This process, however, requires the use of special equipment and/or materials (e.g., filters) to obtain a flavored coffee beverage product. Moreover, not all consumers desired flavors may be available in a form capable of being utilized in such a fashion.
Therefore, considerable effort has been expended in an attempt to address the product formulation and consumer acceptance limitations of using the flavored compositions and techniques heretofore described. Furthermore, there remains a need in the art for compositions and methods of flavoring coffee that ensure high quality and consistent flavor delivery. In particular, inexpensive non-segregating flavoring methods that are easily adaptable to a variety of coffee materials are desirable. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide compositions and methods which address these needs and provide further related advantages.